Thursday, April 24, 2008

Okay you've got to hear me on this because if you don't, O Mighty Internet, who will? Andrew's even out of town so he can't hear me bawl and I've got to vent to someone. How often do you hear me rant and rave anyway? This is historic I tell you.

Six years ago we bought new kitchen appliances and our refrigerator and wall oven were both from Frigidaire. A couple years ago the fridge broke (in essence totaled) but it was a faulty part that Frigidaire agreed to replace under warranty. A freak of nature you say? I think not because this January the kids were making shrinky dinks and the oven blew out--just stopped working completely.

Great. Just great. To top it off the appliance repair service I'd used before was no longer in business which meant I'd have to go with Harold's Appliance Service and I'd already had one bad experience with them six years ago.

So against my better judgment I called Harold's. They came out to fix it and the repairman griped the whole time. He griped about how the wall oven was installed, he griped about having to get it back in, griped about the problems until I was ready to pull a Hansel and Gretel move and shove him in. He's lucky my oven wasn't working.

By the time he left he'd determined pretty much nothing. My oven still wasn't working and he wasn't really sure why but he was going to order a very expensive part nonetheless. When the part finally came in and he came out to install it (with more griping) I got a bill for $286. I paid it but after he left I realized he hadn't tested the oven properly and the temperature adjustment button wasn't working--not a problem as long as you plan on baking everything at 350 right?

So I called them back and he came out again (more griping--nothing was his fault in case I planned on blaming him) and he messed with things. I'm not sure what he did but he broke it completely. Yea, it was just the temperature button out before he came but by the time he left he'd done his diagnostic job so well that the whole oven was out once again. Do you feel me getting angrier and angrier? Good because I was.

More griping--more whining about how it's not his fault and obviously the control board was ready to go at any moment or it wouldn't have reacted to his slightest touch. Yea. So he tells me he has to order another very expensive part to solve my problem this time.

Another week or two or three went by while we went on vacation and they waited for the part to arrive. They'd told me they'd call "the day we get back in town" but sure enough they didn't and I had to call them again to find out if the part had come in--it had. No apologies for not calling earlier and leaving a message to that effect because, hey, this whole thing was my fault right?

So my buddy Repairman Joe showed up--for a fourth time if you're keeping track. My oven had been broken for almost three months by then. But what does that matter to him? He complains about the job and how irritating it all is--as if he'd had to pay $286 for more broken oven and a repairman that will not shut up.

He installed the new control board fresh from Frigidaire. I held my breath. And it didn't work. The part was faulty, it didn't work and I was ready to bang my head against the wall. More whining but at least this time he said that he was going to call Frigidaire and get them to take care of the repair costs for the faulty part and that I wouldn't have to pay anything.

I was furious but I was hoping there was an end in sight, right? I'm essentially an optimist and though I considered going to another repair place multiple times along the way it was kind of that "In for a penny, in for a pound" thing and I worried that switching would just set me back and cost more. How wrong I was.

So he told me he'd order a new part and call me in a couple days to confirm that he was able to get Frigidaire to take care of everything--I wasn't to worry if I didn't hear within 24 hours because it might take a day or two to get an answer. So I waited. And I waited. And I waited.

Finally after two weeks of waiting I call Harold's yet again to check the status. The receptionist informed me that my file had been closed and that there was nothing happening at all because the case was finished.

This is the point where I really went ballistic. I mean I'm a nice person and as irritating as this repair guy was and as problematic as the whole thing had been I was keeping things together and was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that maybe--just maybe--he'd been the victim of circumstance and that fate had it out for him. Maybe my appliance really was the Amityville oven or something and it wasn't his fault but to hear that they'd closed everything out and written me off ticked me off. Postal? You bet.

I finally got tough and demanded all my money back and started getting downright mean about things--and that was when the boss called me to smooth things over. She assured me that there had been a mix up and that my part was on backorder and somehow that information hadn't got to me. I wanted to go for her throat because really now--after all that had happened here shouldn't my name have this big red flag on it and shouldn't they be falling over themselves to get it taken care of? Just to get rid of me if for no other reason.

So two more weeks went by until this weekend when I got a call that the new part--once again fresh from the factory--had arrived. And my good friend Mr. Repairman showed up to fix it today.

The good news? Yes, he installed the new part (the whining was just a given) and my oven finally works but the bad news?? I can hardly hold still to type this I'm still so angry about it. THEY'RE CHARGING ME FOR THE WHOLE THING! Apparently Harold's claims that Frigidaire won't do anything, that they really don't care that their crummy wall oven broke after so short a time, that the part they shipped me was junk and that I've had to pay a repairman for five visits to get it fixed.

Harold's in turn is passing the savings on to me because they claim it's not their fault if the factory shipped a junky part. So the grand total? They want another $280 PLUS labor from me! The final bill for all that whining, poor service and going without an oven for four months is over six hundred dollars. As if! If I'd had any idea of the magnitude of trauma I was in for I would have just bought a new oven from the beginning--and NOT a Frigidaire!

Do you know what you can do with your stupid oven Frigidaire?? And you too Harold's Appliance in Anchorage, Alaska (got that Google--Harold's Appliance?? Anchorage, Alaska?? Frigidaire??)

Write a review of Harold's on Google: http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&q=appliance&near=Anchorage,+AK&fb=1&view=text&hl=en&latlng=14031680188113745674&ei=7ygRSIKSDaiKiAOA2KjiBA&sig2=TjYx2ED6PtFw8-wBFG8_4g&reviews=1&action=open

Write Frigidaire again, because they probably won't respond.

Complain continually. There is no way you should have to pay for at least the broken part that they sent you.

That is INSANE! There's no way you should have to pay that! I feel a Better Business Bureau report coming on. Seriously. And if I were you, I wouldn't feel bad about writing an editorial in the newspaper or contacting your local news station.

I will remember this about Frigidaire.

A friend of mine is having terrible problems getting any appliance service from Sears. She got so frustrated, she started a whole blog about it (sadly there is enough material for an entire blog!)

I will be sure to avoid Frigidaire in the future. This is such ridiculously bad service. Do you have any legal recourse? As someone else said, I'm surprised the repair place stays in business not to mention Frigidaire.

O.k., so there should be power in your blog...if you can't get anything done, the rest of us have no hope!

I HATE FRIGIDAIRE! And, I am not one to get all crazy like that either...saying the word HATE!

But, I HATE THEM!!! We had much of similar experiences with our front loading washer and dryer set...brand new, they ruined my clothes for three years, and I finally trashed them...I should have just trashed them from the get go.

NO ONE SHOULD BUY ANYTHING FROM FRIGIDAIRE!! And, if you have already made the mistake, just trash the appliance now and get something new...it will save you in the long run. I swear.

I'm wondering if a call to a local television station would help. Do any of your local stations do a consumer help segment?

I promise to stay far, far away from Frigidaire. That kind of product and LACK of service by Harold's is INEXCUSABLE. I'm so sorry you've had to endure all of this. I can't imagine being without an oven for so long. :(

I'm so thankful we ordered Maytag for our new house. I'm about to buy a freezer, and now I'm defiantly going with the GE model. We are young, with a lifetime of buying ahead of us, God willing, and I will not but a Frigidaire (there, you've just kept literally tens of thousands out of their hands). There are too many good competing brands for them to be treating you like this. A good company ALWAYS takes care of it's customers.

Dang. I wish you could have written my blog for me when I was having so many problems with Martha Stewart's craft department. Stupid repair company. Stupid Frigidaire. Good luck with getting this turned around.

That is horrible! Frigidaire beware! We mommy bloggers have more power than you realize and we're the ones who pick our appliances! GE is the same *&%#@ as Frigidaire so don't buy that either. GE dishwasher and microwave both died in less than 2 years! Google GE and you'll see lots of bloggers complaining about them. At work (a church) several staff and lots of parishioners were saying to stay clear of Maytag too! Every body loved Kenmore and my personal experience as well as my mother-in-law's and my mom's is that Kenmore is good, but who knows? "They" just don't make ANYTHING like they used to. It's time for consumers to fight back. Enough is enough! And we want GREAT customer service too!

I couldn't agree more. I wrote several times about my Frigidaire washing machine, and I've read other bloggers having trouble with refrigerators, etc. their products are lousy and their customer service is horrible.

I'll hop on this "Frigidaire Sucks" bandwagon! We had their brand new appliances in our home for 3 years and then all of a sudden, they all started breaking. We replaced everything with GE Profile, but after reading the other comments, that may not have been a smart move. Hopefully they'll keep working *knock on wood*. I agree with everyone else who says keep fighting! You are one person and Frigidaire is a huge company. $700 to them is nothing, but to the average person (especially these days), we need that $700 in our pockets! GOOD LUCK!

Sorry to hear you had so many problems! I have had lots of problems with my 4 yr. old Whirlpool oven, too. It has a bad habit of locking itself when it senses a problem- and then the entire oven won't work. Mine didn't work for over 3 months! I found that by pushing the on/off button in and holding it for about 2 minutes unlocks it. I wonder if your oven was turning itself off via the safety lock? As for Fridgedaire and the repair shop you used..SHAME ON THEM!

damn damn damn. I just checked our appliances. Fortunately the oven, washer, and dryer are Whirlpool. unfortunately the dishwasher and refrigerator are Frigidaire. And they were purchased 5 years ago. The dishwasher is bottom of the line and it never gets all the dishes clean, even if you wash them first. But now at least I know that if they actually break, we'll just get a new one. I've always had good luck with Whirlpool. Never Maytag or anything from Sears. I agree with the other commenters - get the lawyer hubby to write a few letters. I love the person who referenced this post directly to Frigidaire.com. Bloggers unite! Oh, I know, write to Oprah!

Oooo, you should mail both of them this post. This is why I want a shirt that says, "Be careful how you treat me, I'll blog about it tomorrow."

I'm pretty forgiving but even I would have been shaking after an event like this. No oven for 3 months??? With a family to feed??? Frigidaire not only owes you a new oven, they owe you several hundreds of dollars in take out food refunds too. And the repair guy not only owes you your money back but fresh flowers sent to your door everyday for a week.

It's time to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Send a photocopy to Frigidaire; maybe their corporate people will make amends by paying you back in exchange for some positive PR. Word of mouth is killer when it's negative, and worse when it's negative and true!

I have a built-in Frigidaire oven and microwave combo unit, and it's 17 years old. The microwave went out and I was told that the PART would cost me $698. Everyone knows you can buy a microwave for $100. We can't replace the unit because of the ingenious design, which has all the controls for the oven and microwave in one panel. I purchased a new microwave, an LG brand, which sits on a table, and the old microwave is used for storage until the oven dies.

I think you should write to Frigidaire. or go to small claims court. Don't pay!

I have a Frigidaire refrigerator and dishwasher. We hadn't had the dishwasher a MONTH before it died. Luckily, since it was within that short period of time, we didn't have to pay for anything, but the inconvenience sucked. We also had to have repairman come out multiple times, order parts, etc. I think it took about 2-3 weeks before it was fixed.

Just wanted to say, I used Dave the Appliance Guy, Huppertech Services (907) 277.3247 when I needed help with my Frigidaire dryer. He was more than helpful, on-time, very pleasant and very knowledgeable about what he was doing. I would absolutely recommend him to anyone who needs appliance help. He also shares you Frigidaire opinion, so he must be great, right?!

We recently bought a foreclosed home and were considering a frigidaire appliance recommended by Consumer Reports.

Then we ran across this in our search via web:

http://scribbit.blogspot.com/2008/04/frigidaire-you-stink.html

It helped make our decision and as a result we will NEVER purchase a Frigidaire appliance.

Customer Service is a BIG part of the purchase for us. In this day and age, products need to be backed by the company. It is a shame that this mother of FOUR is having to pay for YOUR company's mistake.

Unfortunately for you all, she has a huge audience and was recently listed in the WAshington Post as one of the top 10 mommy blogs. She is rational, calm and her reviews are taken seriously.

Thanks for posting this! In the market for appliances and Frigidaire and Whirlpool were the 2 I was looking at! I'll be rethinking that and finding other options. If I am spending that much money for something I need it to work a good long while!

I've heard Fridigaire is known for having lots of problems. Unfortunately, I've lived in many apartments and have used all brands of major appliances. Most have had their share of problems including Whirlpool and Maytag. Now I have a GE oven which I absolutely LOVE. Best of luck with yours, Michelle.

As a member of the Frigidaire organization, I'm so sorry that you've had such a bad experience getting your oven repaired. I can only imagine how frustrated you must be. Hopefully I can change your mind about our company or at least make your day.

Despite some of the comments responding to your story, we do make a very high quality product and no one stands behind their products like Electrolux.

We would like to have a chance to prove that we do stand behind our products. If you can send me a copy of your invoice from Harold's, we will make things right for you, and will take this up with Harold's.

Your oven is 5 years out of warranty and we're sorry you've had trouble. As you probably know any appliance is a machine; every machine is destine to fail eventually. What really compounds the issue is the lack of quality service in Anchorage.

I'm going to make an attempt to contact you outside this blog to get things taken care. Hopefully we can make you glad that 6 years ago you made a quality decision to purchase our products!

Again, we are truly sorry you've had such a hard time with this repair.

My dishwasher is Maytag, oven is GE, microwave is Magic Chef, and refrigerator is Frigidaire. lol Quite an assortment we have here. They're all under 3 years old. Hopefully, we won't live here when something goes wrong with them.

I try not pull the "I'm a writer" card, but I have had to a few times. One time my husband was going to get taken by a shoe company (for about $175) and he told them I was going to write about the injustice. Thankfully, they gave in. However, Best Buy did not.

My friend had a similar horrible experience with Sears and her ice maker that was only 1 year old. She had even bought the extended warranty. Then they sent someone out, told her they didn't service the area anymore, blah, blah, blah and they ended up charging her $400+ for an ice maker!!!!! I could hardly believe it.

Well, you are definately not alone. Customers who own Frigidaire made (also sold as Kenmore) front load washers speak out: http://www.appliancejournal.com/appliance-repair-help/washer-repair/why-kenmore-front-load-washers-fail-271/

I JUST HAD A FRIGIDAIRE DISHWASHER INSTALLED AND IT IS DRAWING ON THE CURRENT FROM THE ELECTRICAL BOX, WHEN IT IS ON AND OFF. YOU CAN HEAR A LOUD HUM IN THE ELECTRICAL CURCIT BOX. IT IS A FIRE HAZARD MY ELECTRICIAN TOLD ME. I CANNOT GET ANYONE TO HELP ME. THEY ARE IN THE PHILLIPINES AND DONOT HELP OR CALL YOU BACK. MY STORE IS TRYING TO HELP. I AM A 2X CANCER PATIENT AND DO NOT NEED TO WORRY ABOUT A FIRE. I HAVE OTHER THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT.

I WAS TOLD BY THE STORE , THAT THE CO FRIDG WOULD GIVE ME 80 PERCENT BACK AND THAT'S FINE, ALTHOUGH I DON'T LIKE THAT. IT IS ONLY ONE WEEK OLD. SO I CALLED THE NUMBER SHE GAVE ME TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO HAVE THE APPLIANCE REMOVED AND GET MY REBATE TO GET A KITCHENAID DISHWASHER AND NOW THEY KEEP TELLING ME MY CASE IS UNDER REVIEW , WHEN I WAS TOLD 5 MINUTES AGO I WAS GETTING A 80 PERCENT REBATE.

NEVER BY FROM THAT COMPANY, THEY ARE HORRIBLE. FRIGIDAIRE STINKS,.!!!!!!!!

I DON'T NEED THIS STRESS. I AM GOING TO WRITE TO KELLY RIPPA,SINCE SHE IS DOING ELECTROLUX COMMERCIALS AND TELL HER NOT TO STAND BEHIND SUCH A COMPANY AND WHAT THEY ARE DOING TO ME.

Gee whiz, that is an unfortunate situation that you lived through. Maybe you should try a different repair service. Like a doctor, if you don't like the first opinion get a second one. I also think that if you get a repairman to your house and he tells you what parts you need, you should order it from a wholesale appliance place, you can usually save money that way.

Thanks to you for having the answer to my Frigidaire electric range problem. The door was staying locked because I leaned up against the controls while putting in a new Hotpoint over-the-range microwave in and got the range in clean mode. Well, holding down the "Clear" button for 30 seconds until fault code "F11" came up did it. Why no answers on any of the first 25 google responses? Don't know, but thanks very much. Thomas